HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- A man and his dog were rescued from a Henrico home Friday morning after a tree fell on the house.
Henrico Fire crews were called to the home along the 7100 block of Dexter Road at about 8:45 a.m.
Dean Simmons told CBS 6 that he was inside the home when all of a sudden his kitchen roof was crashing in on him.
He said he and his seven-year-old Cocker Spaniel, Josiah, had to make their way to the guest bedroom since other exits were blocked -- then had to move a bed out of the way to get to the window.
Simmons said he handed Josiah out the window to a neighbor down below -- then the fire department set up a ladder to help him get out of the home as well.
Linda Stacy lives next door, and said she watched this all unfold.
I was just shocked," said Stacy. "I mean it’s a big tree, it’s a relatively healthy tree, so it’s not like it was a known concern or any neglect or anything like that. It just sliced it pretty much."
Simmons said he planned to stay with a family member for the time being. He said he felt blessed that both he and his dog made it out okay.
Dominion Energy reported nearly 40,000 customers without power in Central Virginia at about 10 a.m.
"High winds are creating many calls for service to include: trees into houses and roads," Henrico Fire Marshal Dan Rosenbaum said. "Many power lines are affected by trees and branches into the power lines. There various power outages in the metro area."
